Alarm over £23m rip-off by crooks in pension scams

WORK and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey will today warn savers: “Don’t let a criminal enjoy your retirement” to highlight the growing danger of ruthless pensions scammers. Fraudsters posing as pen- sion advisers and providers stole an average £91,000 per person from 253 known victims last year.

Several 45 to 65 years are being caught out in the latest pension scam (Image: GETTY)

The £23million fraud is just the tip of the iceberg as only a minority of cases is reported.

Nearly a third of 45 to 55-year-olds said they would not know how to check they were dealing with a genuine adviser, a YouGov survey of 1,000 people concluded.

One in eight said they would trust someone who offered them a “free pension review” – a common tactic used by criminals to obtain people’s details and steal the life savings they had expected to fund their retirement.

The Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator are today launching a joint advertising campaign across television, radio and social media to alert the public to the risk.

Targeted at 45 to 65-year-olds, it advises savers to be on their guard if they get an unexpected offer about their pension and to check the FCA’s ScamSmart website before they transfer any money.

The Daily Express has repeatedly highlighted the issue of fraudsters targeting savers with sophisticated scams since people were given new freedoms in 2015 to cash in their pension pots and spend them as they please.

Writing exclusively here today, Ms McVey hails the fact that more people are working and saving for retirement, thanks to automatic enrolment in occupational pension schemes.

But she warned: “Where there are savings, there are scammers. Don’t let a criminal enjoy your retirement.”